


Pining Boys

by warlockdetective



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: ''Working Boys'' is never mentioned but I wanted to make some sort of reference to it, Alternate Universe - No Apotheosis, Based on a Dream, Mutual Pining, Other, POV Second Person, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22282372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warlockdetective/pseuds/warlockdetective
Summary: Pining Boys, you're up to your ass in--shit. Fuck.
Relationships: Henry Hidgens/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	Pining Boys

If you were to ask about well known small towns, it's unlikely that this one would be mentioned by just about anyone you asked. In defense, however, not many people who live in this town ever really leave it, and as such the town has always been kept as a sort of mystery. Hatchetfield, of course, is very much a small town, and like all small towns, there seems to be a name and story pinned to every face, including the professor you're an assistant to.

You've only been an assistant to the man for a while, but you can see how he garners his reputation of a "mad scientist". He's a man who keeps himself fairly secluded from the rest of the town, leaving only when he finds he absolutely must. You don't think you've ever met someone as devoted to their research as him, though perhaps sometimes there can be too much devotion towards it; he doesn't seem to let himself rest often, though he's admitted to you that before you came into the picture he didn't let himself rest at  _ all _ .

Frankly, despite that, you'd be lying if you said you didn't respect the man. Admittedly there are moments where his research puzzles you to no end, but there's something about his stubborn dedication that you find oddly inspiring. You've been tempted to tell him, but you've always decided against it in the end for reasons you aren't quite certain about. He's probably heard it before, anyway.

* * *

You hear him humming something to himself as he works one day; an old showtune of sorts by the sound of it, though perhaps that's just the way he performs  _ any _ song. Still, you find yourself lost in the song as you work, and after a while you find that the melody  _ does _ seem a little familiar to you. Its name, however, will not surface to you, though that doesn't make it any less of what it is. You can't help but bring your focus to him occasionally, and you have to admit that there's something that you find almost endearing about him now; he looks calmer than you've ever seen him, and it's an intriguing contrast to how frantic he can paint himself sometimes.

Your focus has long been off your work, and after a moment, he catches you staring.  _ Shit-- _

You less than subtly bring your attention back to your work and try your best to pretend that you weren't just staring at the man. Before he can (understandably, as far as you're concerned) ask why you were staring, you tell him that it had been a while since you heard the song he was humming. With another breath, you bring your gaze back to him as you admit that it was a pleasant reminder.

You swear you see a soft--almost shy--smile on his face when you say that. He doesn't say anything before he begins working again, but you can tell he's thinking about your words. Frankly, even as you work, you'd be lying if you said you weren't thinking about that smile.

...

...uh oh.

* * *

Not much time has passed since that, but it's been long enough to know that it isn't a coincidence whenever you seem to lose yourself around him, and you  _ hate _ how flustered he seems to make you.

You sometimes catch yourself staring at him when he's deep in an important explanation he's giving related to his research. You aren't sure if it embarrasses you more when you realize you were focusing more on  _ him _ rather than his words, or when he catches you looking at him almost in a daze. You eventually decide it's impossible to pick between the two, though neither stop you from staring.

You  _ swear _ you see him sneaking a few glances your way every now and then, but it seems like by the time you register them, his gaze is back on what he's working on as if he never stopped looking at it. There's a part of you that thinks you could just be projecting a little. Another part, however, finds yourself wondering if you  _ aren't _ .

An answer of sorts comes to you several nights later.

The two of you are looking over notes related to his research one night when you notice him singing softly to himself, and you can't help but bring your focus away from the notes and listen. You don't think you've ever heard the song before, though maybe that's part of what keeps your focus. There's something about it that stirs butterflies in your chest when you realize that he could've written the song himself, and the calm expression on his face as he sings most certainly isn't helping matters; his eyes are closed, his cheeks have a rosy sort of glow to them, and his smile is so tender that the thought of him directing it at you makes you weak in the knees. His eyes open as he sings what you assume could be part of the bridge, but when he sees you looking at him, his expression becomes one of shock (almost embarrassment).

"I--would you mind looking this over for me?" he manages to choke out, face flush red as he hands you a random sheet of paper that, when you stop to look at it, turns out to be blank. You ask if he meant to grab a different sheet, and he seems to grow more flustered at that. Before he can say anything, you mention that it's getting late and he should rest, to which he nods and adds that you should as well.

Before he steps fully out of the room, you call his name so quietly (almost hesitantly) that you're surprised he hears you at all. There's an almost warm sort of look in his eyes when he turns to face you, and for a moment it's enough to make you forget your words. With a quick breath and warm cheeks, you admit that you loved his singing. It looks as if he's about to brush it off, but he seems to decide against it. Instead, he says, "I'm glad," a soft smile on his face as he adds, "Thank you."

There's an almost bashful silence between the two of you afterwards, and you can't help but find yourself lingering in it. You come back to, however, when he clears his throat almost sheepishly before he speaks, "You should get some rest, darling. I'll see you in the morning." He's gone not long after he finishes the sentence, and it's after a moment that part of the sentence comes to you and leaves you blushing:

Darling.

He called you "darling".

* * *

You would consider the weeks that follow nothing to bat an eye at if it weren't for the events prior to them. That and truthfully, if it wasn't for the moments where you seem to catch each other sneaking glances or the instances where you both seem to jolt a little whenever your hands touch, everything else is so par for the course that you wouldn't think anything of it.

This eventually culminates in Hidgens asking if you can help him with something personal. Noticing how nervous he seems, you tell him that you thought what he was researching was the personal thing he needed help with. He smiles a little at that, and you consider it a small victory of sorts. "I want to know if I'm alright at dancing," he admits after a moment. He pauses briefly before he continues, "It's nothing urgent, but..."

He holds out his hand as he asks, "Would you like to dance with me?" You don't think you've ever seen him so nervous before, and when you take his hand and nod, you catch the look of relief that flashes across his face. It suddenly occurs to you then that you aren't really sure what sort of dance moves he has in mind, or if he knows any at all. The realization seems to hit him too, as he admits with some embarrassment after a moment, "I...didn't exactly plan ahead with this. Is the invitation still open, darling?"

You feel your heart sink a little at the clear hesitation in his voice, but you feel it skip a beat at the end of the sentence. There's that "darling" again, as genuine and clear as the one before. Something about it gives you a small bit of nerve, and with it, one of your hands moves to cup his cheek. You have to admit, however, that it takes everything in you to not flush completely when you hear a soft sigh leave him as he leans into your touch. As soon as your gaze meets his, you give him the earnest answer of  _ of course, love _ .

The look on his face at that is a mix of fondness and shock, and frankly it's one you could get used to. As you find yourself in your thoughts, he brings you brings you back to the present with a kiss so soft that at first you aren't sure if it really happened or not; a quick brush of a kiss. He's about to pull away when you deepen the kiss, and his hesitation leaves him as his hands cup your face, his thumbs gingerly stroking your cheeks as the kiss slowly becomes more fervent.

It's as you feel you're about to fully lose yourself in this kiss that your surroundings come back to you and the two of you pull away. There's a look of shock (almost panic, it seems) in his eyes as the two of you become more aware of what you should be doing versus what you're actually doing.

...wait, was that alright? Did you read something wrong?

... _ you should probably-- _

" _ I should get back to work _ \--" he speaks faster than you can process as he steps away from you, and before you know it, the two of you are back to focusing on the notes of his research as if nothing else had even happened.

... _ fuck _ .

* * *

There's a noticeable sort of still in the air that night; the two of you work like you always have, but you find yourself almost nervous to even  _ look _ at him. You try to say something,  _ anything _ , to break the silence, but nothing will leave you no matter how hard you try.

Then, however, he speaks your name quietly (almost hesitantly), and when you bring your focus to him, the look on his face simultaneously causes your heart to soar and sink. "About earlier..." he begins, his gaze momentarily averting from yours. Sheepishly, you apologize if you read him wrong, but he carefully takes one of your hands in his, and whatever words you had planned on saying come to a crawl in the back of your mind as your eyes meet.

"I should've been more blunt when I told you--showed you, rather--how I felt," he confesses. "I was so worried I'd make things worse if I went straight to the point that I didn't think..." He sighs a little as he tries to finish, but he ultimately decides not to. But he  _ didn't _ , you tell him. Frankly, you've been worried that you hadn't reacted how he had hoped you would then, but he shakes his head a little at that. "Unexpected, perhaps, but not unwelcome," he admits so casually that it surprises you a little to see how rosy his cheeks seem at that.  _ So it's mutual _ , you muse, and it's when you catch the warmth in his eyes that you realize you actually said it out loud.

"I suppose it is, isn't it?," he replies softly, relief flush across his face. Without another word, you find yourselves in an almost tender sort of embrace, his head nestled in the crook of your neck as you settle against his chest. For a moment there is silence, but it's a different sort of silence than the one that had been surrounding you hours ago.

You feel him move to look at you, his hand moving to cup your cheek as your gaze meets his.  _ I love you _ sits on the tip of your tongue, and  _ I love you _ sits in the fondness in his eyes. Neither of you say it, but both of you hear it loud and clear as he brings you in for a tender kiss.


End file.
